Fashion brands face increasing pressure from consumers, particularly younger ones, and governments to show they are doing better on environmental issues. “You’ve got some front runners making small steps of progress but fundamentally the big picture is that the industry is wildly underperforming,” Sarah Kent, chief sustainability correspondent for the trade industry publication The Business of Fashion told Reuters. The Business of Fashion Sustainability Index 2022, in its second report, analysed publicly-disclosed information on environmental targets and policies, including workers rights, in three categories – luxury, sportswear and high street fashion.
Puma (PUMG.DE) was ranked highest, scoring 49 points out of 100, followed Kering (PRTP.PA), last year’s leader, Levi Strauss (LEVI.N), H&M Group (HMb.ST) and Burberry (BRBY.L). Puma welcomed the recognition but Chief Executive Bjorn Gulden said “much remains to be done”. Kering’s chief sustainability officer, Marie-Claire Daveu, said her company was “fully aware of the challenges ahead”. Levi Strauss, H&M and Burberry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“There are signs of progress but it’s largely incremental,” Kent said, adding that “we’re not seeing the big transformational leaps that we really do need to see over the next eight years” to meet Paris targets.
The report said companies could lose their cultural relevance and destroy long-term value by failing to act.
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